His name's on everyone's lips--sexy rocker Jack McCabe. His gritty New York City band is red hot, almost as hot as his fiery affair with photography student Lil Marchone, the girl from his past, now the woman he loves. The problem is, Lil's controlling ex wants her back. Rich, powerful, and ruthless, he'll stop at nothing--including murder--to get Jack out of her life. But Jack's a badass himself, always up for a fight. And with the stakes this high, he'll risk everything for Lil, even his band. Even his life.
~*~
The scent of fresh-brewed coffee wafted through my window, enticing me out of a pleasant dream: I was sitting on the terrace of my uncle’s chateau outside of Amboise, the morning sun glinting off the infinity pool, coffee steaming in a crockery cup. It felt so familiar. The comfort. The luxury.
The indoor plumbing.
With that last thought, I came fully awake, reminded that not only was I far from Amboise, I was at least twenty miles from an actual toilet.
Remembering the spidery outhouse I’d visited by flashlight the night before, I squeezed my legs together. How was I supposed to live without a toilet? Running water? A shower! Electricity, for crying out loud.
Nursing my grievances, I listened with growing bitterness to Jack and Ty yucking it up out on the porch. They were catching up, the lazy flow of their conversation punctuated by easy laughter. Resentfully, I threw back the blankets and stood up, determined to demand better accommodations. Even the Halfway House had a toilet, for Chrissakes.
I marched to the living room. But that was as far as I got.
What I saw through the screen door made me lose my resolve: the two of them sitting on the steps in their faded jeans and cowboy hats, Jack leaning back against the rail, a stalk of hay in his teeth, and Ty whittling at a stick, a pile of shavings at his feet.
They could’ve stepped out of time, fresh from a cattle drive.
As I looked on, Ty said something that cracked both of them up, and it struck me that I couldn’t recall Jack laughing so freely before. He was more relaxed than I’d ever seen him.
My gaze rose beyond him to the yard, mostly rocks and yucca and mesquite. Patches of grass sprouted here and there, with scarlet flecks of Indian paintbrush dotted against the gray and green. To the south, the grassy meadow shimmered in the breeze, bluebonnets waving their lazy heads. Otherwise, we were surrounded by woods—oak, pecan and cottonwood.
It was rugged country, untamed and unwelcoming to a city girl like me. But not to Jack. He was built for this land; for the labor and the beauty, both. As I watched, he tilted his hat back to follow the flight of an eagle overhead. What was electricity next to that? What was running water? Conveniences, not necessities. They made life easier, not happier.
He brought his cup to his lips, eyes closing to savor the strong aroma. And it was suddenly so clear to me. Too much of the outlaw ran in his veins for him ever to be content in the city.
All he needed, all he really wanted, was a campfire, a clear spring, a good cup of coffee. And me.
Then and there, I decided that I wouldn’t complain. I’d bathe in the stream and pee in the outhouse, cook on the woodstove and read by the lantern. And I’d do it all wholeheartedly, for as long as Jack wanted to.
Because all I needed, all I really wanted, was him.
Cara Connelly is the author of the Save the Date series of contemporary romances published by Avon Romance. The latest book in the series, The Wedding Gift, was released in May 2015. Cara’s smart and sexy stories have won several awards, including the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart, the Valley Forge Romance Writers’ Sheila, and the Music City Romance Writers’ Melody of Love. A former attorney and law professor, she lives with her husband Billy in the woods of upstate New York.
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